Shrimp Daddy

They call him Shrimp Daddy and he plays the Blues.Michael 'Shrimp Daddy Reid' is the winner of the 2011 MAPLE BLUES AWARD for "NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR" and was nominated for the 2011 CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS FOR "BLUES ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR"

His deep powerful vocals and soulful harmonica, supported by his hard playing band The Sharpshooters, will whisk you from the juke joints of Mississippi, to the hard edge blues clubs of Chicago, and leave you swingin' and jumpin' west coast style. Inspired by the music of Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters, and his personal favorite, William Clarke, Shrimpdaddy carries on the tradition of heartfelt blues performance.

Transplanted from “La Belle Province” this native Montrealer now makes Nova Scotia his home. He is a driving force in vocalizing, interpreting and writing Chicago and West Coast jump and swing blues.

Michael “Shrimp Daddy” Reid is a must hear!

Carter Chaplin

Born January 3, 1968
Raised in Brookfield , Nova Scotia. Canada
Carter Chaplin found blues from the rolling stones at 13. Dug back into the creators of the music.
Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Eddie Taylor,Albert Collins, Dutch Mason,T-Bone walker, Little Walter, Luther Tucker, Fabulous thunderbirds...SRV..etc
started to play guitar seriously at 17, playin' dance halls and house parties in rural nova scotia.
He began playing blues in halifax1988 , and played with such local icons as Joe Murphy [23 years on and off even now with Joe], Andrew Gillis, Shirley Jackson,
3 yrs with Theresa Malenfant, 10 years with Rick Jeffery, 12 years Dutch Mason along with Garrett Mason...until Dutch passed......They travelled all over eastern canada.
Carter has recorded with theses artists, and haas performed with Johnny Sansone, Pine top Perkins. Bharath Rajakumar, Morgan Davis..and the great James Harman in 2010 at Dutch Fest. to name a few...

Garrett Mason

We are fortunate to be joined by Garrett

when he is not booked on his own projects

Garrett Mason is a true bluesman at heart. He was raised in Truro, Nova Scotia by his mother Pam, and father, veteran Canadian Bluesman Dutch Mason. His quest to become a blues musician started at a very early age; being surrounded by music blues music, Garrett’s favorite tapes at 3 years old were Canned Heat and Buddy Rich. What really sealed the deal for Garrett to become a blues guitarist came after watching a video of Stevie Ray Vaughn “Live At the El Mocambo” - he was hooked.

His dad, Dutch Mason, stopped playing guitar before Garrett was born due to crippling arthritis in his hands. Although he was not able to teach his son to play, he has certainly been able to teach Garrett the structure of the Blues and to influence him about the resulting sound. Surrounded by his father’s peers, Garrett has had the benefit of hearing and learning from a wide variety of musical talent. The late Rick Jeffery was a great inspiration to Garrett; they would talk and play for hours together. Rick once said “Garrett is the only guitar player I know that can play Albert Collins’ style down to a T”. The combination of his father’s advice, Jeffery’s guidance and his own natural talents provide that special brew for Garrett to become the musical influence he is destined to be.

Garrett would be the first to tell you that riding the coat tails of others won’t take you very far in this business, but striving to be truly original is the secret to longevity and lasting success. Garrett launched his debut CD I’m Just a Man at the 2004 Harvest Jazz and Blues festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick to a sold out crowd.

This debut CD features Garrett’s talent for strong original songs, a voice that is reminiscent of a veteran performer and his extraordinary aptitude for playing electric guitar. Garrett’s original talent was awarded in 2005 when he received a Juno for Best Blues Album. Garrett Mason is poised to be one of the brightest stars to emerge from the East Coast Blues scene in years.

Garrett’s band released their sophomore album Love and Sound in July 2008 which was nominated for a Juno Award. The album won Blues Artist/Group Recording of the Year at the 2009 Music Nova Scotia and Industry Awards.

Barry Cooke

Vocals & Keyboards

Barry Cooke is active on the Halifax music scene and has been playing the Saturday afternoon matinee with Joe Murphy and the Water Street Blues band at “Your Fathers Moustache” for the last 20 years. As well the list of performers Barry has played with is extensive, and includes, Dutch Mason, Theresa Malenfant, Shirley Jackson, Garrett Mason, Jack de Keyzer, Johnny Sansone and others. Barry is a very versatile artist who can be heard providing the base while simultaneously playing the piano.

Aaron Flint Churchill

Aaron fell in love with the blues after hearing the wail and moan of the Elmore James cut "Dust My Broom" and the undeniable shuffle of Odie Payne. These '59 Fire session recordings opened the door to Chicago, the West Coast, the Delta, Texas, and onward to bands carrying on the tradition including Hollywood Fats, featuring the great Richard Innes on drums.

For being a relative newcomer to the East Coast Blues community, Aaron has already amassed an accomplished resume of performances having the opportunity to play with some of Canada's finest Bluesman including Garrett Mason, Keith Hallett, Joe Murphy, and Big Dave McLean to Oklahoma native Watermelon Slim. Churchill is true journeyman of the blues tradition in the Maritimes.